System for authenticating self-authenticating documents

Abstract

System for reading a self-authenticating document having machine-readable data including critical document data, digital signature data and a public key certificate. At a point of purchase or financial institution, a personal identification unit receives a personal identification number (PIN) from a presenter of a self-authenticating document, and an image scanning and processing system reads the self-authenticating document, retrieves the machine-readable data, and assembles an authenticatable data string from the critical document data and the received PIN. A parsing system parses the machine-readable data to obtain the digital signature data and the public key certificate. A validating system certifies the public key certificate to obtain an authentic public key and applies the authentic public key to the digital signature data in order to for validate the authenticatable data string. The self-authenticating document is authenticated if the authenticatable data string is validated.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention generally relates to authentication of value documents. More particularly, the invention relates to a method and system for authenticating personal checks and commercial checks, as well as other personal documents and commercial value documents, wherein the data in these documents is unencrypted but secured through a digital signature. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Printed documents of any kind are becoming substantially easier to forge as technology advances. Personal and business checks are no exception. For example, enhanced and inexpensively available home desktop publishing technology now widely available makes forging checks easier than ever. In addition, check processing is rapidly evolving. To reduce the costs of processing personal checks tendered for payment at a point of sale, banks, electronic fund transfer networks, and merchants seek new, more efficient methods for processing personal checks. For example, one new check proc...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

In a first aspect of a preferred embodiment of the invention, a method for printing authentication information on a value document is provided. The method includes the step of generating a first digital signature based on a critical data string and a second digital signature based on an authenticatable data string and a private key. The method further includes the step of obtaining a public key certifica...

Problems solved by technology

Problematically, the use of encryption and encryption smart cards as specified in this approach would likely require export control review by appropriate United States federal agencie...

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